Sandtray Therapy

Sandtray Therapy is a multi-dimensional therapeutic technique that utilizes the sensory medium of sand and miniatures to process thoughts and feelings to promote healing. Using this medium client’s who have difficulty with vocabulary, or struggle with finding words for what they are experiencing, can express themselves in another way. It’s much easier to “put it out in the sand” than to talk about it; it feels safer because it’s external, has natural boundaries and limits, and it’s something the client can control.

What to expect during a session.

The Sandtray Therapist or (witness) provides a safe space where the client or (creator) chooses from an array of figurines, using the sandtray to sculpt, move, build, bury and position the miniatures in a tray of sand where they create a visual representation of a thought narrative. The therapist respectfully observes in silence during this process. This process gently guides the client’s internal world providing a place for its expression within a safe container.

History of Sandtray Therapy.

Dr. Margaret Lowenfeld, a Paediatrician, first developed the therapeutic use of sandtray and miniatures in the 1920’s. The technique came to be known as the “Lowenfeld World Technique”. Sandtray was then expanded and popularized by Dora Kalff (a Swiss Jungian analyst). Gisela de Domenico has taught her particular method in the United States, which she calls Sandtray-World Play, in which she incorporates Kalff’s ideas with spiritual and cultural awareness.